Who is responsible for the damages to my car? 24 Answers as of February 17, 2012

Suing somebody successfully requires showing four elements: 1. your defendant had a duty 2. your defendant breached his duty 3. the breach of duty was the proximate cause of your damages 4. the extent of the damages. In your statement, there is apparently an issue regarding whether there was any negligence on the part of the owners of the power line. You should probably speak with an attorney about it. Perhaps you would need an expert witness to investigate whether the power line company was negligent. Not every unfortunate event is the result of somebody's wrongdoing. Sometimes things happen that are nobody's fault so there is nobody to sue. It might be necessary to start a lawsuit to use the civil discovery process to investigate whether there was any negligence in the construction or maintenance of the power lines.

Contact your insurance company and they will pursue the parties at fault.

Contact and hire a contingency fee attorney familiar and experienced with actions against municipalities, counties and state government. You must also get a notice to the appropriate parties in a matter of months from the date of the accident. Finally get the insurance policy for your vehicle and get a copy to your attorney.

Check with your City's Mayor's Office or legal department and/or consult with an accident attorney for legal representation.

Start with the power company. If it was caused by an act of nature they may be able to avoid liability.

You may be entitled to the damage to your car. First make an inquiry as to what entity provides maintenance to the power lines, usually it is the phone company or electric company. Once you figure that out you would want to talk to them and see if they have a claim process and see whether they know why the power line fell. If possible you'll want to try to go through their claim process and get reimbursement for your car informally. If you cannot solve the issue in this manner you'll want to contact an attorney who will then sue for reimbursement. One catch though, if it happens to be the city that provides maintenance and they are responsible for the line to fall you will have to go though the city's claim process before you can file suit because of the possibility of sovereign immunity. In the end though try to resolve the matter informally if possible and then contact an attorney if you cannot.

I'm sorry for what occurred, but I really can't answer your question without knowing what caused the power line to fail. It could have been the fault of the power company, the city, or weather. You should contact a lawyer in your area to investigate what occurred. If the power line fell due to someone's negligence, you may have a claim. Good luck.

Likely your comprehensive insurance coverage on the car itself. Assuming the power company did nothing wrong.

I'd say it's the owner of the power line. There must be police reports and fire dept reports. You are entitled to copies, get them. Get in touch with the power company, it may be that they are required to make good on any damage that their lines cause, or that they were negligent in not properly maintaining their lines. But if you have insurance that would cover this, my recommendation is that you get reimbursement from your insurance company and let them go after the power company.

If it was an act of God, such as a storm, no one is liable. Your auto insurance might pay for the damages, depending on what type coverage you have. If the wire fell because it was improperly maintained, the governmental agency responsible for maintaining it is liable and you can file a claim.

Probably the power company. Send a claim letter to them and see what happens.

The power company is responsible. You should file a claim with the power company.

Report it to your insurance company, but from what you say, the power company might be liable.